Introduction

Traveling to Turkey has become a goal for many travelers, especially after it succeeded in recent years to become one of the most popular tourist and economic destinations in the world.

The matter is more than travel for tourism, Turkey has also become a destination for immigration and permanent residence.

Statistics showed that the rate of regular immigration to Turkey has increased 3 times during the last 15 years.

Because the issue of moving to another country, whatever it is, requires knowledge of some of the basics of living in that country, there are 7 things that every person coming to Turkey must know, whether for tourism, work, study, or other reasons.

First: Legal Residency

Visa

Before coming to Turkey, the traveler must take into account several tips for obtaining a visa, as follows:

• Ensure that the passport is valid and has a validity period of at least 6 months, in the case of tourism, but in other cases of residency that may take longer, it is better to renew it.
• Make sure of the visa options available for the passport, and is it necessary to obtain specific permission from any other party, or not?
• Most of the regular passports can obtain an electronic entry visa, for tourism or commercial purposes, while other reasons require a visit to the Turkish embassy or consulate to fulfill its requirements.
• The visitor must not exceed the period of stay specified for him in the visa, which is usually between 30 and 90 days.
• Those wishing to stay for a longer period than mentioned in the visa must apply for the appropriate residence permit, whether it is a work, study, or tourism permit…

Residence Permit

• The Turkish Immigration Department allows the possibility to apply for a residence permit within 60 days before the expiry of the visa period.

There are several types of residence permits, as follows:

• Short-term residence permits, such as tourism – investment – real estate – research.
• Family residence permit.
• Residence permit for students.
• Long-term residence permit.
• Humanitarian residence permit (for refugees).
• Residence permit for victims of human trafficking.

Second: Place of Residence

The place of residence is one of the most important issues that concern many people, whether they are coming for tourism or any other reason.

Of course, the place of residence is known to those who have just come to Turkey, as they either have booked a hotel or have a relative or otherwise.

But if the visitor decides to extend his residence, then it is necessary to search for a home, and that is through brokers’ offices, websites, or self-search.

In Turkey, there is a wide range of housing options, including apartment areas, rental value, and services, and each has its price.

All home bills in Turkey such as water, electricity, gas, internet, and even rent can be paid automatically from the bank account.

Third: Food

Turkey has been known for centuries and still is, for its varied and delicious cuisine, which blends Eastern and Western cuisines.

This harmony makes Turkish cuisine acceptable to many nationalities and environments.

Turkish cuisine has been influenced over time by Kurdish, Persian, Indian, Arab, and Armenian cuisine.

Among these foods:

Pastries

Pastries are one of the basics of Turkish cuisine, and they are found on the table morning and evening, including:

• Pide:
  • Turkish flatbread with ground meat and vegetable filling is one of the most popular snacks and our slow-cooked “fast food” in Turkey.
  • There are “Pideci” Turkish flatbread shops that solely bake and serve these flatbreads along with Coban Salata, Shepherd’s Salad; such delicious flavor combinations.

• Simit:
  • • Simit is a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax, or sunflower seeds, found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East…

   

  • Simit’s size, crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region. It is widely known as a Turkish bagel in the United States.

• Lahmajun :

• • Lahmacun (lahmajun) is a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat, minced vegetables, and herbs including onions, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, and parsley, and spices such as chili pepper, paprika, and cinnamon, then baked.
  • Lahmacun is often wrapped around vegetables, including pickles, tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, parsley, and roasted eggplant.

Kebab

It is the world of food that humans never tire of. The types of kebab are many and varied, as well as their unforgettable taste, and among its types:

• Doner Kebab ‎:
  • • it is a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element.

   

  • The outer layer is sliced into thin shavings as it cooks.
  • The vertical rotisserie was invented in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire and has inspired similar dishes such as the Arab shawarma, Greek gyros, Canadian donair, and Mexican al pastor.
  • The sliced meat of a doner kebab may be served on a plate with various accompaniments, stuffed into a pita or other type of bread as a sandwich, or wrapped in a thin flatbread.

• Iskender Kebab:
  • It is one of the best-known dishes of northwestern Turkey. It takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century Ottoman Empire.
  • The dish consists of döner kebab prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb topped with hot tomato sauce over pieces of pita bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter and yogurt.
  • Tomato sauce and melted butter are generally poured over the dish, at the table.

• Shish Kebab:

• • It is a popular meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat.
  • In Turkey, shish kebab and the vegetables served with it are grilled separately, normally not on the same skewer.

Adana Kebab:

• it is a long, hand-minced meat kebab mounted on a wide iron skewer and grilled on an open mangal filled with burning charcoal.
• The culinary item is named after Adana, the fifth-largest city of Turkey.

Urfa Kebab:

• It is similar to Adana kebabı, but not that spicy.

Sweets

The world of sweets has no limits in Turkey, where there are all shapes, colors, and varieties, and each has its taste, although all types have a taste that takes the mind to a different world.

Baklawa

• It is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey.
• It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.

Lokum

• Turkish delight or Lokum is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar.
• Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts, or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often flavored with rosewater, mastic, Bergamot orange, or lemon.
• The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of tartar to prevent clinging. Other common flavors include cinnamon and mint.

Knafeh

• It is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with shredded filo pastry, or fine semolina dough, soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clotted cream or nuts, depending on the region.

Ashura

• It is a Turkish dessert porridge that is made of a mixture consisting of grains, fruits, dried fruits, and nuts.
• In Turkey, it is served all year round, especially during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, as the 10th of Muharrem corresponds to the Day of Ashura.

Fourth: Drinks

Water

In Turkey, tap water is not used for direct drinking, and some people use it to cook food or drink tea.

As for direct drinking, many people use bottled mineral water or install water filters inside homes.

Tea

Most of the tea produced in Turkey is Rize tea, a terroir from Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast, which has a mild climate with high precipitation and fertile soil.

Turkish tea is typically prepared using two stacked kettles specially designed for tea preparation.

Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower kettle and then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top and steep (infuse) several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea.

Tea is drunk from small glasses to enjoy it hot in addition to showing its color, with cubes of beet sugar.

Coffee ‎

First appearing in the Ottoman Empire, Turkish coffee culture had reached Britain and France by the mid to late 17th century.

Coffee and water, usually with added sugar, are brought to the boil in a special pot called cezve in Turkey.

As soon as the mixture begins to froth, and before it boils over, it is taken off the heat; it may be briefly reheated twice more to increase the desired froth.

Coffee is often served with something small and sweet to eat, such as Turkish delight…

Ayran

Ayran is served chilled and often as an accompaniment to grilled meat or rice, especially during summer.

It is made by mixing yogurt with chilled or iced water and is sometimes carbonated and seasoned with mint.

Fifthly: Transportation

There is a huge public transport system in Turkey such as local buses, taxis, minibusses, tram,

and metro.

Metro

Turkey’s metro system of underground and surface rapid transit trains is growing quickly.

Major cities of Turkey now have underground metros. You need to buy a smart ticket to travel by metro.

Smart Ticket (Istanbul Kart)

You can purchase a smart ticket for a small deposit which, once loaded with credit, can be used not only on the buses but the metro, tram, and ferries.

The units could be acquired from offices near major transport interchanges for a refundable deposit of 6 TL and were loaded with credits in these offices in amounts up to 150 TL.

Alternatively, they could be loaded at special purpose machines, newsstands, or small shops which offered this service.[

                                  Public Transport Times

In Istanbul, routes and times of public transportation can be found on the Istanbul Public Transport Authority website.

The “Trafi” app can be downloaded on a mobile phone.

Private Transportation

Minibusses (Dolmush)

Minibusses are useful alternatives to local buses and run on standard routes posted on the front screen of the vehicle.

Taxis

Taxis are plentiful and the best board at designated taxi stops. Payment is according to the onboard meter. All taxis in Turkey are required by law to have an onboard meter.

However, set prices are more common for intercity journeys which are posted clearly at the taxi stop…

Car Rental

It is a widespread topic, especially in major cities and tourist cities, and it is easy, but an international driving license must be available, or a translation of the driving license into the Turkish language, and this translation is valid for 6 months.

Sixth: Shopping

Turkey is famous for its markets and products, which have become a demand for everyone, whether tourists or citizens,

So shopping in Turkey has a special pleasure, and it may take a lot and a lot of time.

All goods and products are available in the Turkish market in a variety of shapes and designs, including clothes, furnishings, household items, and gold jewelry.

In addition to the huge shopping centers crowded with branches of famous local and international brands.

Few visitors return from Turkey without some kind of souvenir; whether it’s a cheap-and-cheerful pack of local herbs and spices or an expensive carpet depends on the budget of the traveler and the skill of the salesman.

The best selection of good-quality wares is to be found in the major tourist centers: İstanbul, Cappadocia, Bursa, and the coastal resorts.

Bargaining ‎(Haggling)

Bargaining (haggling) is a tradition in Turkey as in many other countries.

In Turkey, haggling is extended to include many less valuable items, especially unique handmade goods such as carpets, crafts, art, antiques, and other items that do not have standardized markets.

Tax Refund

Turkey has a value-added tax (KDV) of 8% or %18 depending on the item, which is included in the price of most goods and services.

If you purchase an item from a store that participates in the national ‘Global Refund: Tax-Free Shopping’ scheme and then take the item out of the country, you are entitled to a tax refund.

There aren’t many shops participating in this scheme, however, it is always worth asking the shopkeeper if it is possible to get a Tax Free Invoicer or Tax Refund Cheque.

Possibility of Purchasing After Leaving Turkey

Tourists who visited Turkey and liked products that they could not buy for any reason now can get them through Yollando…

The buyer only needs to send the description of the goods and their place of sale to Yollando.

It should buy at the local price and ship it to the buyer’s doorstep.

The ways of buying from Yollando are simple and easy and saves a lot of money and time for everyone who wants to buy products from Turkey at their local prices.

Seventh: Tourism

Turkey at present with its enormous tourism potential and a great diversity of its natural resources, historical treasures, cultural values and activities, lifestyle, and attractions.

Its efficient, dynamic tourist industry offers a wide selection of products that can satisfy the demand of different market segments including the most sophisticated and demanding traveler.

Over the last two decades, Turkey has made considerable investments in infra and superstructure.

This also includes transport infrastructure such as improvement, modernization of airports and air terminals as well as the construction of new ones.

The transport infrastructure and the efficiency of services and the advanced communication network system meet all the requirements of contemporary tourism.

The accommodation industry at present includes a range of facilities from the top quality, super modern deluxe category hotels and holiday complexes, boutique hotels to the affordable ones.

At its height in 2019, Turkey attracted around 51 million foreign tourists, ranking as the sixth-most-popular tourist destination in the world…

Blessed by a Mediterranean climate and a rich history influence by the Ottoman Empire, Turkey appeals to both culture-seekers and beach-buffs.

While Istanbul possesses a wealth of things for tourists to see and do, other regions have their appeal.

Splash around the mud baths of Dalyan or scramble around the volcanic rock of Goreme.

How Can I Buy From Turkey Through Yollando‎?

Yollando provides the opportunity to buy any goods from Turkey without having to come in person. This is through buying from a Turkish website at the same local price, or by selecting a commodity and sending its details to “Yollando“.‏

First Way:

• Buying directly from the Websites, then “Yollando” will ship the product as soon as it reaches your address in Turkey.

Second Way:

• Send a link to the product to “Yollando“, using the (Buy For Me) service, and Yollando will buy it for you.

Advantages of Buying Using “Yollando

• The possibility of purchasing without limits.
• “Yollando” has agreements with shipping companies, which saves more than 20% of expenses.
• It deals with major international shipping companies: (Sky Net Express – DHL Express – UPS Express – Aramex).
• “Yollando” saves you many shipping expenses in case you buy more than one product, by combining these products in one shipment, packing them, and sending them to your home.